Feeding spoon



FEEDING SPOON Filed June 23, 1960 CAROLYN GECKLER INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,014,277 Patented Dec. 26, 19613,014,277 FEEDING SPOQN Carolyn S. Geckler, 1409 SW. 67, Oklahoma City,Okla. Filed June 23, 1960, Ser. No. 38,178 2 Claims. ((Il. 30-324) Thepresent invention relates to spoons, and the like, and more particularlyto a spoon for feeding infants.

Conventionally shaped spoons are unsatisfactory for training infants toeat semi-solid foods for the reason that an infant during the first fewweeks has not learned to compress its lips to accept and hold foodwithin its mouth. A conventional spoon must be tipped upwardly at thehandle end to scrape the food out of the spoon against the infants uppergum. This action causes the sides of the spoon to contact the infantsgums and, be ing hard and an unfamiliar sensation to the infants mouth,the infant tries to reject the spoon by pushing it out of its mouth bypushing its tongue against the spoon and food. A conventional spoon isnot shaped properly for etficiently scraping rejected food off aninfants lips and chin to return the food to the mouth. Furthermore, theconventional spoon, formed of metal, hurts the gums of an infant when itbites on the spoon, this is particularly true when the infant isteething.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the instant invention toprovide a resilient type spoon for feeding infants.

Another object is to provide a substantially fiat feeding spoon in whichthe spoon portion is removably carried by a handle portion.

Another object is to provide a spoon of this class formed of resilientmaterial, such as rubber, having sufiicient rigidity to retain its shapeand yet not present a hard surface which might injure an infants gum.

Another object is to provide a spoon-like tip which may be easily andquickly removed from the connecting handle portion and replaced with aclean tip.

A further object is to provide a feeding spoon having a removable tipwhich may be removed and sterilized as by boiling.

Still another object is to provide an infants feeding spoon wherein thetip may be quickly and easily replaced with a sterilized tip when thespoon has been dropped or becomes dirty.

A further object is to provide a replaceable spoonlike tip for a handlewherein the spoon tip is provided with a rounded forward edge surfaceperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tip and handle.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by providinga substantially spade-shaped spoonlike tip end portion having anopposite cylindrical end portion removably received by a socket formedin one end of a handle member.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view, partly in section, of the handle and spoontip in exploded relation; and,

FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, are vertical cross-sectional views takensubstantially along the lines 2-2, 3-3 and 44, respectively, of FIG. 1.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures ofthe drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral indicates the device, as a whole, comprising anelongated handle member 12 having a socket 14 formed in onecylindrical-like end. The handle 12 may be formed of metal or anysuitable preferably rigid material. The walls defining the socket 14 maybe threaded, as at 16, or formed with inwardly projecting ridges for thepurposes which will presently be apparent.

The numeral 20 indicates a food dipping spade-like spoon tip end portionpreferably formed of resilient material such as the rubber presentlyused in forming bottle nursing nipples. The spoon tip 20 has onecylindricallike end 22 adapted to be closely received by the handlesocket 14. A relatively small air release hole 15 extends laterallythrough the wall of the handle adjacent the inner end of the socket 14.Adjacent the cylindrical end 2 2, the body of the spoon is transverselywidened a se lected width, preferably relatively small. The opposingside edges 24 and '26 converge toward the forward end edge 28 of thespoon tip which latter is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thespoon tip and handle. The body of the tip, adjacent the cylindricalportion 22, is of substantially equal thickness, as at 30, to providerigidity for the spoon tip. The greater forward portion of the tip isrecessed in its upper surface, as at 32, to provide a substantially flatsurface 34 parallel with the spoon tip bottom surface 36. The uppersurface of the side edge portions 38, defining the recess 32, convergeforwardly and blend with the flat surface 34. The spacing between theparallel upper and lower surfaces 34 and 36 is relatively small toprovide a relatively thin forward end portion of the spoon. The sideedges 24 and 26 and the end 28 are joined by a rounded edge surfaceformed on a relatively small radius as at 40. The upper and lowerparallel surfaces 34 and 36 are similarly joined by a relatively smallradius, as at 42, to provide an edge surface pleasing to the touch.

Operation shown, may be easily scraped oif of the tip portion againstthe infants upper gum. Any food rejected or spit out by the infant maybe easily recollected off the infants lips or chin by scraping therounded free end edge 28 of the spoon over the infants face. The spoontip portion 20, after use, may be removed from the handle andsterilized, as by boiling, in a manner commonly followed in sterilizingbottle nipples and other instruments.

Oviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alterationwithout defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to beconfined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and describedherein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An infant feeding spoon, comprising: an elongated handle portionformed of rigid material having one cylindrical end portion, saidcylindrical end portion having a cylindrical socket formed thereincoaxial with the longitudinal axis of the handle and having a pluralityof thread-like projections formed on the wall defining the socketthroughout the length thereof; and a food dipping member formed ofresilient material, said member having a relatively thin forward portionterminating in a forward end edge perpendicular to its longitudinal axisand having upper and lower substantially parallel surfaces extendingrearwardly of the forward end edge, the end portion of said memberopposite its forward end edge having a cylindrical portion removablyreceived by the socket in said handle, the diameter of said cylindricalportion being substantially greater than the spacing be tween said upperand lower parallel surfaces, said member having opposing side edgesextending rearwardly from said forward end edge in diverging relation toform an intermediate transversely widened and thickened portioncharacterized by arcuate surfaces merging with said cylindrical portion.

2. An infant feeding spoon, comprising: an elongated handle portionformed of rigid material having one cylindrical end portion, saidcylindrical end portion having a cylindrical socket formed thereincoaxial with the longitudinal axis of the handle and having a pluralityof thread-like projections formed on the wall defining the socketthroughout the length thereof; and a food dipping member formed ofresilient material, said member having a relatively thin forward portiondefined by upper and lower substantially parallel surfaces merging atthe forward end of the relatively thin portion in an arcuate end edgeperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said member, the end of saidmember, opposite the forward end edge, having a cylindrical portionremovably received by the socket in said handle, the diameter of saidcylindrical portion being substantially greater than the spacing betweensaid upper and lower parallel surfaces, said member having opposing sideedge portions extending rearwardly in diverging relation from saidforward end edge and inclined upwardly from said upper surface to forman intermediate transversely widened and thickened portion substantiallyequal in thickness to the diameter of said cylindrical portion andcharacterized by arcuate surfaces merging with said cylindrical portionand the upper surface of said relatively thin forward portion anddefining a recess intermediate the width of said transversely widenedand thickened portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS896,043 Putnam Aug. 11, 1908 1,111,910 Kunz Sept. 29, 1914 2,188,114Hubbard Jan. 23, 1940 2,252,119 Edmonds Aug. 12, 1941 2,589,753 VinsonMar. 18, 1952 2,610,400 Wendling Sept. 16, 1952 2,803,059 Murdock et al.Aug. 20, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 540,026 France Apr. 11, 1922

